Aaron Judge completed a torrid month with his major league-leading 19th and 20th home runs and Marcus Stroman pitched into the eighth inning as the New York Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants 6-2 on Friday.

Judge singled in the first inning, then erased New York’s 1-0 deficit with a three-run homer in the third off starter Jordan Hicks and led off the sixth with a solo shot to make it 4-1.

Judge, who grew up about 100 miles away in Linden, California, was heavily recruited by the Giants in free agency in December 2022, but decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360million contract.

He finished May with a .371 average, 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 27 RBIs in 28 games.

Judge’s 26 extra-base hits are the most by any Yankees player in a month since Joe DiMaggio had 31 in July 1937, and this is just the eighth time since the end of World War II that any player in the majors had that many extra-base hits in any month.

The Yankees have won 14 of 18 and are just the fourth team ever to reach 40 wins before June 1.

Stroman allowed two runs and six hits over 7 1/3 innings. New York tied a franchise record set in 1981 with their 18th straight start with a pitcher going at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer.

Yelich’s big night powers Brewers

Christian Yelich had five of the Brewers’ 23 hits and drove in five runs in Milwaukee’s 12-5 rout of the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Yelich, who had a career-high six hits on Aug. 29, 2018, had a two-run single in the fourth, a two-run double in the seventh and an RBI single in the eighth. He had a career-high six hits at Cincinnati on August 29, 2018.

Brice Turang, William Contreras and Sal Frelick each had three hits for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who have won four of five.

Paul DeJong homered for the White Sox, who lost their ninth straight to fall to a major league-worst 15-43.

Bibee sharp in Guardians’ win

Tanner Bibee took a shutout into the seventh and Davis Fry hit a three-run homer as the Cleveland Guardians won their eighth straight at home, 7-1 over the Washington Nationals.

Bibee gave up one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He has a 1.82 ERA in his last five starts.

Cleveland broke open the game with a four-run seventh. Josh Naylor knocked in a run with a force out grounder and Fry followed with his eighth home run, a blast to left-center field off Robert Garcia.

Fry is batting .455 (15 for 33) with five homers, 15 RBIs and 13 runs in his last 11 games.

Guardians leadoff hitter Steven Kwan had three hits, two runs and a walk in his return after being activated from the injured list before the game. He raised his batting average to .365 in 33 games.

Aaron Judge completed a torrid month with his major league-leading 19th and 20th home runs and Marcus Stroman pitched into the eighth inning as the New York Yankees defeated the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 on Friday night.

Judge singled in the first inning, then erased New York’s 1-0 deficit with a three-run homer in the third off starter Jordan Hicks and led off the sixth with a solo shot to make it 4-1.

Judge, who grew up about 100 miles away in Linden, California, was heavily recruited by the Giants in free agency in December 2022, but decided to remain with the Yankees and signed a nine-year, $360 million contract.

He finished May with a .371 average, 14 home runs, 12 doubles and 27 RBIs in 28 games. Judge’s 26 extra-base hits are the most by any Yankees player in a month since Joe DiMaggio had 31 in July 1937, and this is just the eighth time since the end of World War II that any player in the majors had that many extra-base hits in any month.

The Yankees have won 14 of 18 and are just the fourth team ever to reach 40 wins before June 1.

Stroman allowed two runs and six hits over 7 1/3 innings. New York tied a franchise record set in 1981 with its 18th straight start with a pitcher going at least five innings and allowing three runs or fewer.

Yelich’s big night powers Brewers

Christian Yelich had five of the Brewers’ 23 hits and drove in five runs in Milwaukee’s 12-5 rout of the lowly Chicago White Sox.

Yelich, who had a career-high six hits on Aug. 29, 2018, had a two-run single in the fourth, a two-run double in the seventh and an RBI single in the eighth. He had a career-high six hits at Cincinnati on Aug. 29, 2018.

Brice Turang, William Contreras and Sal Frelick each had three hits for the NL Central-leading Brewers, who have won four of five.

Paul DeJong homered for the White Sox, who lost their ninth straight to fall to a major league-worst 15-43.

Bibee sharp in Guardians’ win

Tanner Bibee took a shutout into the seventh and Davis Fry hit a three-run homer as the Cleveland Guardians won their eighth straight at home, 7-1 over the Washington Nationals.

Bibee gave up one run and three hits in 6 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He has a 1.82 ERA in his last five starts.

Cleveland broke open the game with a four-run seventh. Josh Naylor knocked in a run with a force out grounder and Fry followed with his eighth home run, a blast to left-center field off Robert Garcia.

Fry is batting .455 (15 for 33) with five homers, 15 RBIs and 13 runs in his last 11 games.

Guardians leadoff hitter Steven Kwan had three hits, two runs and a walk in his return after being activated from the injured list before the game. He raised his batting average to .365 in 33 games.

Rafael Devers set a Red Sox record by homering in his sixth consecutive game, and Tanner Houck threw seven dominant innings as Boston cruised to a 5-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays in Monday's opener of a three-game series between American League East rivals.

Devers cracked a two-run shot off Taj Bradley in the fourth inning to become the first player in franchise history to put together six straight games with at least one home run. The star third baseman had shared the record with six other players, including Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Jimmie Foxx. 

Houck (4-5) lowered his season ERA to 1.94 by limiting the Rays to two hits and a walk. The right-hander halted a personal three-start losing streak in which he received a combined three runs of support.

He got more help in this one as the Red Sox broke out for three runs in the fourth, which Jarren Duran opened with a triple in front of Wilyer Abreu's double that staked Boston to a 1-0 lead.

Two batters later, Devers launched an 0-1 pitch into the seats in left field for his historic homer.

Boston extended the margin on Ceddanne Rafaela's two-run homer in the fifth.

Bradley (1-2) fanned eight of the first nine Red Sox hitters and finished with 10 strikeouts in seven innings, but allowed all five runs to take the loss.

The Rays mustered just three hits for the game and were dealt a second straight loss following a four-game winning streak.

Mariners score four in ninth inning to end Yankees' streak

Ty France knocked in the go-ahead run with a single as the Seattle Mariners scored four times in the ninth inning to halt the New York Yankees' seven-game winning streak with a stunning 5-4 win.

Seattle's offence managed just three hits through eight innings before coming to life against New York closer Clay Holmes while down 4-1 in the ninth. 

Julio Rodriguez began the rally with a one-out single and Cal Raleigh drew a walk before Luke Raley reached on an infield hit, in which Yankees' second baseman Gleyber Torres threw wildly to first to allow Rodriguez to score on the error.

After Mitch Haniger followed with a single that plated Raleigh, Raley crossed the plate on Dominic Canzone's sacrifice fly to tie the game at 4-4. France then shot a single to right that brought home Haniger to put Seattle ahead.

Andres Munoz then struck out two in the bottom of the ninth to earn his ninth save as the Mariners took the opener of this four-game series.

Holmes' struggles ruined a terrific outing from New York starter Marcus Stroman, who yielded just one run on three hits while striking out six over 7 1/3 innings.

Alex Verdugo went 3 for 5 for the Yankees and had three RBIs, two of which came on a first-inning double that opened the scoring. New York had put two aboard on a hit batter and Aaron Judge's one-out double. 

Verdugo struck again in the fifth by following back-to-back singles from Juan Soto and Judge with a base hit of his own that increased the lead to 3-0. 

Stroman took a shutout into the eighth that was broken up by Canzone's solo homer with one out. The Yankees countered in their half of the inning, however, when Torres drew a walk and later scored on Jon Berti's single.

Seattle starter Logan Gilbert worked six innings and allowed three runs on eight hits.

Guardians down Mets in Lindor's return to Cleveland

Ben Lively allowed one run over 5 2/3 sharp innings as the Cleveland Guardians remained hot with a 3-1 win over the New York Mets in Francisco Lindor's return to Progressive Field.

Lindor was playing in Cleveland for the first time since the Guardians traded the four-time All-Star shortstop to New York in January 2021. Lindor spent his first six MLB seasons with the Guardians and was an integral part of four play-off teams during his tenure.

The former fan favourite went 0 for 4 in his return as the Mets got little going against Lively (3-2), who struck out seven and scattered six hits to help the AL Central leaders win for the seventh time in eight games. 

Lively got all the support he would need via David Fry's two-run single in the first inning off Tylor Megill. The hit brought in Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor, both of whom singled and advanced a base on a fielding error by New York left fielder Brandon Nimmo.

Tomas Nido brought the Mets within 2-1 with a solo homer off Lively in the third inning, though Cleveland restored its two-run advantage in the fourth when Fry drew a walk and later scored on Kyle Manzardo's double.

Lively and the Cleveland bullpen successfully protected the lead as four relievers combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Emmanuel Clase retired the side in order in the ninth to register his 14th save, tied with St. Louis' Ryan Helsley for the major league lead.

Megill (0-2), activated from the injured list prior to the game, struck out seven over five innings while giving up three runs, two of which were earned. 

Pete Alonso had two of the Mets' six hits as New York lost for the eighth time in 11 games. 

New York Yankees lead-off hitter Anthony Volpe started off Thursday's game against the Minnesota Twins with a home run.

That was all the run support Clarke Schmidt would need.

Schmidt pitched a career-high eight innings and the Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Twins with a 5-0 win.

Schmidt permitted three hits without a walk while striking out eight as New York won for the 10th time in 12 games to become the first AL club to 30 wins.

The Yankees (30-15) posted back-to-back shutouts at Minnesota and extended their scoreless streak to 26 innings dating to the first inning of Tuesday's series opener.

Volpe's homer sparked a three-run first inning for New York, which outscored Minnesota 14-1 in the three games.

Aaron Judge and Gleyber Torres each hit two doubles, while Anthony Rizzo, Austin Wells and Alex Verdugo all drove in one run.

The Twins (24-19) entered this series with only three losses in their previous 20 games before promptly being swept for the first time since April 15-17, at Baltimore.

Mets score two in 11th to edge Phillies

J.D. Martinez hit a go-ahead single in the 11th and later scored on a wild pitch to provide the final margin as the New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies to avoid a four-game sweep in the home-and-home series.

The Phillies sent the game into extras after Bryson Stott tied the game with a single off Mets closer Edwin Díaz in the 9th.

It marked the second straight blown save for Díaz and his third in four opportunities since May 5.

Pete Alonso opened the scoring with a first-inning homer for the Mets (20-23), who had lost to the Phillies at home on Monday and Tuesday and then lost the opener of the two-game series in Phildelphia on Wednesday.

In a scheduling quirk, these teams played four consecutive games split between New York and Philadelphia, as part of the arrangement with the teams playing a two-game set in London on June 8-9.

Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm each had run-scoring doubles for the NL East-leading Phillies (31-14), who lost for only the fourth time in 20 games.

De La Cruz runs wild as Reds blank Dodgers

Elly De La Cruz had four hits, three runs and four stolen bases as the visiting Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-2 in their series opener.

De La Cruz now has a major league-leading 30 steals - 13 more than the next-closest player (Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Jose Caballero).

Playing in Cincinnati's 44th game, he is the fastest player to 30 steals since 1996, when Kenny Lofton reached 30 steals in Cleveland's 41st game.

De La Cruz had has many hits as the Dodgers (29-17), who have now totalled one run in their last two games to lose consecutive games for the first time since April 19-20.

The Reds (19-25), who ended up using seven pitchers during a bullpen day, won for the second time in three games after going just 1-11 in their previous 12.

Corbin Carroll had a tiebreaking single in the eighth inning and Slade Cecconi pitched 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball as the Arizona Diamondbacks won their fourth straight, 5-4 over the reeling Cincinnati Reds.

Joc Pederson homered in the first inning and finished with three hits for Arizona, which got RBIs from five different players.

Spencer Steer’s two-run single in the seventh completed Cincinnati’s comeback from a 4-1 deficit, but the Reds lost their eighth in a row, a stretch during which they scored just 17 runs.

Cincinnati has lost 11 of 13 to drop a season-high five games under .500 (16-21).

Cecconi gave up three hits with two strikeouts before Logan Allen allowed three runs over the next 1 1/3 innings. Paul Seward struck out two in the ninth for his first save of the season.

Twins rough up Gilbert in rout of Mariners

Manny Margot highlighted a five-run first inning with a three-run double off Mariners ace Logan Gilbert and the Minnesota Twins rolled to an 11-1 win over Seattle.

Pablo Lopez struck out 10 and allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings to win his third straight start.

Ryan Jeffers and Max Kepler each homered and knocked in two runs for the Twins, who have won 15 of 17 to move a season-best seven games over .500 (22-15).

Minnesota has averaged 6.6 runs and 10.1 hits over that 17-game span.

Gilbert failed to pitch into the sixth for the first time in eight starts this season and surrendered eight runs on nine hits with two walks in five innings. His AL-leading 1.69 ERA increased to 2.94.

Astros avoid season sweep to Yankees

Yordan Alvarez and Jon Singleton homered in the first inning and the Houston Astros held on for a 4-3 victory over the New York Yankees.

Alvarez hit a two-out shot off Marcus Stroman and Singleton followed Jeremy Pena’s walk for a 3-0 lead.

Pena added a fifth-inning RBI single for the Astros, who were outscored 40-18 in the first six games this season – all losses – against the Yankees.

Ronel Blanco allowed two runs on four hits over 5 2/3 innings and Josh Hader got the final four outs for his fourth save.

Anthony Volpe had a two-run homer and Aaron Judge belted a 473-foot shot in the eighth, but New York had a five-game winning streak snapped.

Ranger Suarez and the Philadelphia Phillies each extended impressive streaks in the team's 7-0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Monday's opener of a four-game series.

Suarez increased his run of consecutive scoreless innings to 22 by limiting the Reds to two hits and a walk over seven dominant frames in Philadelphia's seventh straight win. The left-hander struck out five and improved to 4-0 in five starts this season.

Kody Clemens supplied the offence for the Phillies by going 2 for 4 with a three-run homer after being called up from the minors to replace slugger Bryce Harper, who is away from the team to attend the birth of his child.

Hunter Greene threw a season-high seven innings for Cincinnati but was handed the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits.

The Phillies opened the scoring in the second when Alec Bohm and Nick Castellanos reached on back-to-back singles before Bryson Stott plated Bohm with a sacrifice fly.

Johan Rojas tripled off Greene to start the third and came home on Kyle Schwarber's sac fly for a 2-0 edge, and the Phillies tacked on another run in the fourth when Bohm doubled and scored on Stott's fielder's choice grounder.

J.T. Realmuto's run-scoring double in the fifth put Philadelphia up 4-0, and Clemens' blast with Castellanos and Stott aboard in the ninth closed out the scoring.

Gelof's homer in ninth lifts Athletics over Yankees

Zack Gelof broke a scoreless tie with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth inning that gave the Oakland Athletics a 2-0 win over the New York Yankees in the opener of a four-game series.

Abraham Toro greeted reliever Victor Gonzalez with an infield single to start the ninth before Gelof lined a pitch from the Yankees' left-hander into the right field seats to end the scoreless stalemate.

Mason Miller then struck out Anthony Volpe, Juan Soto and Aaron Judge in order in the bottom of the ninth to record his fifth save and put an end to Oakland's three-game losing streak.

The Yankees were dealt a second loss in three games despite a dominant start from Carlos Rodon, who yielded only a fifth-inning single and two walks over seven innings.

A's starter JP Sears was equally good, however, as the former Yankee permitted just three hits and a walk while striking out seven in six innings.

The Yankees played nearly the entire game without manager Aaron Boone, who was ejected by home plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt in the top of the first inning after questioning whether Oakland lead-off hitter Esteury Ruiz swung a pitch that hit the outfielder.

Boone said after the game Wendelstedt was angered by a remark directed at the umpire by a fan sitting behind New York's dugout. 

Orioles stay hot by extending Angels' struggles

James McCann and Colton Cowser homered to back 5 2/3 scoreless innings from Albert Suarez as the Baltimore Orioles continued their surge with a 4-2 victory over the slumping Los Angeles Angels.

Adley Rutschman added two hits and two RBIs to help Baltimore to its seventh win in eight games, a run that has moved the Orioles a half-game ahead of the New York Yankees for first place in the American League East.

The Angels, meanwhile, have now lost five straight after dropping the opener of this three-game series.

Suarez scattered four hits and two walks while striking out five before departing with a 3-0 lead. McCann's solo homer in the second inning put Baltimore on the board before Jorge Mateo stole two bases in the third to precede Rutschman's run-scoring single.

Rutschman made it 3-0 when he followed Gunnar Henderson's single with a double off Los Angeles starter Reid Detmers in the fifth, and Cowser increased the margin in the seventh with his sixth home run of the season.

All four Baltimore runs came off Detmers, who lasted seven innings and was dealt his first loss of the season after going 3-0 over his first four starts.

The Angels did close the gap in the bottom of the seventh, as Jo Adell homered and Logan O'Hoppe followed with a single before later scoring on Nolan Schanuel's base hit that cut the lead to 4-2.

Los Angeles threatened in the ninth by loading the bases with one out, but Baltimore closer Craig Kimbrel got Schanuel to pop out before fanning Mike Trout to end the game and record his sixth save.

O'Hoppe recorded three of the Angels' eight hits for the game. 

Chris Bassitt tossed 6 1/3 effective innings to lead the way as the Toronto Blue Jays dealt the New York Yankees their first losing streak of the season with Monday's 3-1 win to open a three-game series.

Bassitt allowed just one run on four hits to help Toronto to its season-high third straight win. The right-hander has now won back-to-back starts after losing his first two outings of the season. 

The Blue Jays managed just four hits but took advantage of seven walks issued by New York starter Luis Gil in five innings of work.

Gil walked three straight Toronto hitters to force in a run after Cavan Biggio opened the bottom of the second inning with a ground-rule double with the Blue Jays trailing 1-0. The right-hander later uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Alejandro Kirk to cross the plate for a 2-1 lead.

Kirk recorded two of the Blue Jays' four hits, including a two-out double in the third that scored Bo Bichette, who had reached on an infield single.

The Yankees had briefly gone ahead in the top of the second on Oswaldo Cabrera's run-scoring single, the last of three consecutive hits off Bassitt.

Bassitt did not surrender a hit from the fourth inning on, however, and relievers Tim Mayza and Chad Green combined for 1 2/3 scoreless innings before Yimi Garcia retired the side in order in the ninth for his second save.

Gil struck out six but permitted all three Toronto runs as the Yankees lost consecutive games for the first time in 2024. New York was coming off Sunday's 8-7 defeat at Cleveland in which the Guardians rallied for three runs in the 10th inning.

Riley helps Braves pull away from Astros

Austin Riley collected three hits, including an RBI single during a four-run ninth inning that enabled the Atlanta Braves to pull away for a 6-1 win over the Houston Astros.

Four Atlanta relievers combined for 5 1/3 scoreless innings to protect an early 2-1 lead and allow the Braves to take the opener of this three-game series between the two participants in the 2021 World Series.

Aaron Bummer was credited with the win after retiring two of three hitters in relief of Darius Vines, who held Houston to one run and four hits over 4 2/3 innings.

The Astros did touch Vines for a run in the first inning as Kyle Tucker drew a walk, stole second and scored on Alex Bregman's two-out single.

Atlanta answered by scoring two runs in the second off Houston starter Spencer Arrighetti, all with two out.

Travis d'Arnaud started the rally with a double and later scored on an error by Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena, who threw wildly to first base after fielding Luis Guillorme's infield single.

Arrighetti then walked Ronald Acuna Jr. to load the bases before hitting Ozzie Albies with a pitch to bring in the go-ahead run.

The score remained 2-1 until the Braves erupted in the ninth off struggling Houston closer Josh Hader, who surrendered four hits and a walk while recording just one out.

Hader also threw a wild pitch that allowed Adam Duvall to advance to second in front of Orlando Arcia's run-scoring single that gave Atlanta a 3-1 advantage. Riley and Marcell Ozuna later delivered RBI singles and the Braves scored another run on a fielder's choice groundout.

Arrighetti struck out five over four innings in his second major league start, but took the loss after permitting two runs.

Cubs rally in ninth inning, then beat Diamondbacks in 11

Nico Hoerner's run-scoring single in the 11th inning capped a late rally that propelled the Chicago Cubs to a 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in the opener of a three-game series.

Hoerner finished 2 for 4 and also scored the tying run in the ninth when he raced home from second base on a wild pitch thrown by Arizona reliever Kevin Ginkel.

Michael Busch tied a franchise record for Chicago with his fifth consecutive game with a home run. The first baseman achieved the feat with a solo shot off Diamondbacks' starter Merrill Kelly in the top of the second inning that gave the Cubs a 1-0 lead.

Kelly did not allow a run over the remainder of his five-inning stint, helping the Diamondbacks eventually move ahead when Randal Grichuk doubled in the eighth and scored on Corbin Carroll's single off reliever Drew Smyly to put Arizona up 2-1.

Ginkel surrendered one-out singles to Hoerner and Mike Tauchman in the ninth, however, before Hoerner hustled home from second on the closer's errant pitch to the plate with the Cubs down to their final out.

Hoerner put Chicago ahead in his next at-bat by delivering a bases-loaded single off Bryce Jarvis in the 11th. Keegan Thompson then stranded the tying run at third in the bottom of the inning to wrap up the Cubs' third straight victory.

Chicago starter Ben Brown worked six innings and yielded just one hit, a single to Jake McCarthy in the second that brought in Arizona's first run.

Juan Soto’s three-run homer backed a stellar season debut by Cody Poteet and the New York Yankees rolled to an 8-2 win over the Cleveland Guardians for a doubleheader sweep on Saturday.

With a 3-2 victory in the opener, the Yankees are 12-3 for the seventh time in their history and first since 2003. They have won eight of nine road games.

Poteet allowed one run and six hits over six innings to earn his first win since 2021 with Miami. He did not pitch in the majors last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022.

Soto’s three-run homer came off starter Triston McKenzie and was preceded by Anthony Volpe’s RBI single.

Josh Naylor and Estevan Florial homered for Cleveland, which is 1-9 in its last five doubleheaders.

In the opener, Oswaldo Cabrera hit a two-run homer and Clay Holmes survived a shaky ninth inning.

Brewers slug way to another win

Jake Bauers snapped a tie with a three-run homer and the Milwaukee Brewers scored at least seven runs again in an 11-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles.

Rhys Hoskins also homered and Willy Adames and Brice Turang each added three hits for the Brewers, who have scored 58 runs in their last six games, with at least seven in each. That streak ties a franchise record set in 1982 and 1989.

Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westburg and Adley Rutschman went deep for Baltimore, which has allowed 22 runs in the first two games of this series.

Milwaukee went 6 for 10 with runners in scoring position and is 33 for 69 (.478) over the last six games.

Cubs’ Imanaga continues strong start

Shota Imanaga allowed one unearned run over 5 1/3 innings and Michael Busch homered in his third straight game to lead the Chicago Cubs to a 4-1 win over the Seattle Mariners.

Imanaga has thrown 15 1/3 innings in his first three major league starts without giving up an earned run. He scattered five hits, struck out four and walked two.

Mark Leiter Jr., Yency Almonte, Hector Neris and Adbert Alzolay surrendered just two baserunners in 3 2/3 innings of relief.

Seiya Suzuki and Miguel Amaya added solo home runs as the Cubs improved to 2-3 on a nine-game road trip.

The New York Yankees received eight stellar innings from Nestor Cortes and three-run homers from Juan Soto and Anthony Volpe to continue their hot start with Monday's 7-0 win over the floundering Miami Marlins.

Cortes retired 24 of the 26 batters he faced, yielding just a pair of singles, to record his first victory since May 30 and help New York match the best 11-game start to a season in franchise history at 9-2. The left-hander struck out six while throwing 70 of 102 pitches for strikes.

The Yankees have opened a season 9-2 seven times previously, most recently in 2020.

Volpe and Soto's homers both came in the fourth inning off Jesus Luzardo, with Soto's blast his first at Yankee Stadium since New York acquired the star outfielder from the San Diego Padres in the offseason.

Soto finished 2 for 3 and Alex Verdugo went 3 for 3 with an RBI as the Yankees extended Miami's early-season woes. The Marlins have now lost 10 of their first 11 games for the second time in team history, having previously done so in 1998.

Luzardo permitted all seven runs while being tagged for eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Miami left-hander had kept the Yankees scoreless until Volpe followed fourth-inning singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo with a drive into the left field seats.

Verdugo then doubled and Luzardo walked Jose Trevino before retiring the next two batters to bring up Soto, who launched the first pitch he saw over the wall in right for a 6-0 lead.

Stanton doubled to open the bottom of the fifth before scoring the Yankees' final run on Verdugo's two-out single.

Nationals rout Giants to spoil Snell's San Francisco debut

Lane Thomas went 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs as the Washington Nationals spoiled Blake Snell's San Francisco Giants debut with an 8-1 rout in the opener of a three-game series.

Trey Lipscomb also had three hits, including an RBI single, and delivered a steal of home to help pin a loss on Snell in the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner's first start as a Giant.

Snell, who went 14-9 with an MLB-leading 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts with the San Diego Padres last season, joined San Francisco on a two-year, $62 million contract in March.

The ace left-hander struck out five in three innings, but surrendered three runs on three hits while walking two.

Washington received a more effective outing from starter Trevor Williams, who held San Francisco to one run on three hits over five innings to move to 2-0 on the season.

Snell's trouble came in the second inning, as he issued consecutive one-out walks before Lipscomb singled to left to drive in a run and tie the score at 1-1. 

Luis Garcia followed with an infield RBI single that put Washington ahead before stealing second base, with Lipscomb running home from third on the play and beating the throw to the plate.

The Giants had taken a 1-0 lead when Jung Hoo Lee singled and LaMonte Wade doubled two batters later, with Lee crossing the plate on an errant throw from Nationals left fielder Jesse Winker.

Thomas' two-run homer off Landen Roupp in the fifth pushed Washington's lead to 5-1, and the Nationals tacked on another run in the inning on Ildemaro Vargas' RBI double.

Washington scored twice more in the ninth via an RBI single from Thomas and a bases-loaded walk to Vargas that forced in Winker.

Ohtani's homer, three hits power Dodgers past Twins

Shohei Ohtani tied a career high with three extra-base hits, including a solo homer, as the Los Angeles Dodgers got back on track with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Ohtani added two doubles along with his third homer in five games to help Los Angeles take the opener of this three-game series. The Dodgers entered Minnesota off two losses in three games to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend.

James Paxton did his part for Los Angeles by holding the Twins to two runs on three hits over six solid innings to win his second straight start to begin the season.

Paxton's lone blemish came when he served up a two-run homer to Manuel Margot in the third inning that gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead.

The Twins maintained a one-run edge until the sixth, when Ohtani greeted reliever Steven Okert with a double and later scored on Will Smith's single.

Okert came on for Bailey Ober, who allowed just one run and three hits over five innings before departing in line for the win.

James Outman put Los Angeles ahead with a solo homer off Jay Jackson in the seventh. Two batters later, Ohtani connected for an opposite-field blast off Jackson that increased the lead to 4-2.

Ober's lone run allowed came after issuing a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the first inning. Ohtani followed with a double before Betts crossed the plate on Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly. 

Seiya Suzuki drove in three runs and the Chicago Cubs scored five times in the second inning before holding on for a 9-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in Friday's opener of a three-game series.

Michael Busch, acquired from the Dodgers in the offseason, had a solo homer against his former team to help Chicago to its fifth consecutive win. Dansby Swanson also homered for the Cubs and Ian Happ contributed a two-run triple.

The Dodgers had a four-game winning streak snapped despite Shohei Ohtani connecting for his second homer of the season, a two-run shot in the fifth inning. Teoscar Hernandez went 3 for 4 with four RBIs for Los Angeles.

After Hernandez's two-run single in the first inning gave the Dodgers an early lead, the Cubs answered and then some against Los Angeles starter Bobby Miller in the second.

Swanson got Chicago on the board with a one-out solo homer and Miller walked Busch before yielding back-to-back singles to Nico Hoerner and Nick Madrigal, the last of which plated Busch. Happ later walked to load the bases and Hoerner scored on Miller's wild pitch for a 3-2 Cubs lead.

Suzuki then doubled to right to knock in two more runs and extend the margin and chase Miller, who was tagged for five runs in just 1 2/3 innings.

Busch homered in the third to put Chicago up 6-2, but Ohtani followed Mookie Betts' single in the fifth with a blast into the right-field seats off Cubs' starter Kyle Hendricks to close the gap. Hendricks then walked Freddie Freeman before giving up a double to Will Smith that cut Los Angeles' deficit to 6-5.

Hendricks was charged with five runs on eight hits over four-plus innings.

Happ brought in Hoerner and Yan Gomes with a triple in the sixth to give Chicago some breathing room, then scored on Suzuki's sacrifice fly for a 9-5 lead.

Hernandez plated Freeman and Smith with a single in the seventh to get the Dodgers closer, but relievers Julian Merryweather and Adbert Alzolay shut Los Angeles out over the final two innings to protect the lead.

Rangers roll past Astros in ALCS rematch

Adolis Garcia and Marcus Semien each belted three-run homers as the Texas Rangers cruised to a 10-2 rout over the Houston Astros in the American League West rivals' first meeting since last season's League Championship Series.

Garcia also had an RBI single to back 7 2/3 outstanding innings from Cory Bradford as the Rangers took the opener of this four-game Lone Star series. 

Bradford yielded just one run and two hits with no walks to help Texas end a run of eight consecutive Houston wins at the Rangers' Globe Life Park, including three during the 2023 ALCS that Texas won in seven games before later capturing the franchise's first World Series title.

The Rangers went up big early in the rematch, scoring five two-out runs off Houston starter Hunter Brown in the second inning.

Singles by Josh Smith and Semien put two runners on before Corey Seager drove in Texas' first run with a double. Semien then scored on Wyatt Langford's infield single before Garcia launched a three-run homer for a 5-0 advantage.

Smith's RBI double in the fourth and Garcia's run-scoring single in the fifth increased the margin further, and Semien made it a 10-0 lead when he homered off Brandon Bielak with two aboard in the sixth.

Bradford was removed after giving up a two-out single to Jeremy Pena in the eighth. Jake Meyers then greeted reliever Yerry Rodriguez with a two-run homer to end Texas' shutout bid.

Brown lasted just three innings and was tagged for five runs and eight hits while walking four.

Clement's homer helps Blue Jays spoil Yankees' home opener

Ernie Clement broke a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit home run in the seventh inning, and five Toronto Blue Jays pitchers combined on a six-hitter to spoil the New York Yankees' home opener with a 3-0 victory.

Clement sent a pitch from Yankees reliever Caleb Ferguson into the left-field seats to help Toronto take the opener of this three-game series.

The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the top of the ninth before ex-Yankee Chad Green worked around a pair of hits in the bottom of the inning to finish off the shutout and earn his first save of the season.

New York was dealt just its second loss in eight games this season despite an outstanding start from former Blue Jay Marcus Stroman, who yielded just three hits and struck out six in six scoreless innings.

Yusei Kikuchi was just as good for Toronto, as the left-hander permitted just four hits and struck out seven in 5 1/3 innings.

Alejandro Kirk had three hits for the Blue Jays, including a single in the ninth that was followed by a base hit from Daulton Varsho. Isiah Kiner-Falefa then drew a walk to load the bases before New York reliever Nick Burdi threw a wild pitch that allowed pinch-runner Brian Serven to score for a 2-0 lead.

Burdi uncorked another wild pitch later in the inning that enabled Varsho to score Toronto's final run. 

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole is expected to miss the first one-to-two months of the upcoming season due to lingering discomfort in the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner's right elbow, the New York Post reported Wednesday.

Cole is expected to fly to Los Angeles for an in-person visit with noted sports orthopaedist Dr. Neal ElAttrache. According to the report, a recent MRI taken on the All-Star's elbow showed no tears in his ulnar collateral ligament, but ElAttrache recommended Cole undergo further testing as well as an in-person exam after reviewing the MRI results.

The 33-year-old had been scheduled to pitch New York's season opener in Houston against the Astros on March 28. Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed to reporters Tuesday that Cole would not make that start.

“Right now, there’s uncertainty about what’s going on in there,” Boone told MLB.com. “We’re waiting on everyone to weigh in. Sometimes the first look isn’t [conclusive]. You want to make sure when you’re talking about the elbow. You want to make sure you get it right and make the best decision. We’ve just got to be patient.”

Cole informed the Yankees' medical staff of elbow discomfort after he threw 47 pitches in a three-inning simulated game on Thursday. He underwent the MRI on Monday and was subsequently scratched from Tuesday's scheduled spring-training start. 

The six-time All-Star has made one Grapefruit League appearance this spring, a two-inning stint against the Toronto Blue Jays on March 1 in which he allowed three runs and threw 39 pitches.

According to the New York Post, the Yankees are hopeful Cole can make his season debut sometime in May or early June.

Cole captured his first career Cy Young Award with an outstanding 2023 campaign in which he led the AL with a 2.63 ERA while compiling a 15-4 record with 222 strikeouts in 209 innings. The Yankees went 23-10 in his 33 starts.

The accomplished right-hander has also been remarkably durable. Cole's 664 innings pitched since 2020 are the most in Major League Baseball over that time frame, and he has not been on the injured list for an arm-related issue since 2016.

Cole, entering the fifth season of a nine-year, $324 million contract he signed to join the Yankees in December 2019, is 51-23 with a 3.08 ERA in 108 regular-season starts during his tenure in New York.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2011 MLB draft, Cole spent his first five major league seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates before being traded to the Astros in 2018. He pitched two seasons for Houston and won a career-high 20 games in 2019 while helping the Astros reach the World Series.

The first blockbuster trade of the offseason arrived Wednesday night, with the New York Yankees acquiring slugger Juan Soto from the cost-cutting San Diego Padres.

The Yankees will get Soto, a three-time All-Star, and outfielder Trent Grisham from the Padres in exchange for pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka.

Soto, widely regarded as one of the game’s best hitters, is due to be a free agent after this upcoming season and was moved because San Diego needed to slash payroll and was seeking pitching depth.

The 25-year-old Soto is expected to slot in as the Yankees’ right fielder, with Aaron Judge likely shifting to center and newly acquired Alex Verdugo manning left field. Grisham will likely serve as a fourth outfielder and defensive replacement.

New York was in desperate need of offense after finishing 82-80 last season, the franchise’s worst record since 1992. The offense ranked 25th in the majors with 4.15 runs per game, 29th in batting average (.227) and 24th in OPS (.701).

Soto provides plenty from the plate with a .421 on-base percentage, the highest among active players. He is a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and batted .275 with 35 home runs, 109 RBIs and .a 930 Ops in his only full season with the Padres in 2023.

San Diego acquired Soto from the Washington Nationals on Aug. 2, 2022, after he turned down a $440 million, 15-year offer.

New York Yankees ace Gerrit Cole won his first American League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, while the San Diego Padres' Blake Snell won his second Cy Young - and first time in the National League.

Cole was the runner-up twice for the AL Cy Young (in 2019 and ’21) but received all 30 first-place votes by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, becoming the 11th unanimous AL winner.

The right-hander led the league in three of the most important pitching statistics, finishing first in ERA (2.63), WHIP (0.98) and innings pitched (209). His 222 strikeouts were third in the AL behind Toronto Blue Jays right-hander Kevin Gausman's 237 and Minnesota Twins righty Pablo Lopez's 234.

Gausman finished third in voting, while Lopez's Twins teammate, Sonny Gray, finished second.

Cole went 15-4 and yielded fewer than four runs in 28 of 33 starts in 2023. He was dominant over the season’s final five weeks, going 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 0.68 WHIP with the Yankees winning all seven of those games.

He's the first Yankee to win the award since 2001, when Roger Clemens won it.

Snell becomes the seventh pitcher to win the award in both leagues after winning the AL Cy Young as a member of the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.

The left-hander led all of MLB with a 2.25 ERA and .181 opponents' batting average, while his 234 strikeouts trailed only Atlanta Braves righty Spencer Strider's 281 for the most in the NL.

Snell also led the majors with 99 walks, becoming the first pitcher since Early Wynn for the 1959 Chicago White Sox to win the Cy Young despite leading MLB in base on balls.

Voters looked past his control issues and evidently focused on his incredible stretch from late May through the end of the season. In his final 23 starts, Snell recorded a 1.20 ERA - only Bob Gibson in 1968 posted a lower ERA in as many starts.

Snell, who finished the season 14-9 with a 1.19 WHIP, received 28 of 30 first-place votes to finish ahead of the San Francisco Giants' Logan Webb and Zac Gallen of the NL champion Arizona Diamondbacks.

Rookie Jasson Dominguez's two-run homer in the sixth inning accounted for the go-ahead runs as the New York Yankees completed a stunning three-game road sweep of the Houston Astros with a 6-1 victory on Sunday night.

Dominguez took Astros starter Cristian Javier's pitch over the right-field wall to snap a 1-1 tie for the 20-year-old's second big hit of the series. He homered off 2022 American League Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander in his first major league at-bat during New York's 6-2 victory in Friday's opener.

DJ LeMahieu had an RBI double earlier in the Yankees' three-run sixth inning, while Gleyber Torres homered in the ninth while finishing 2 for 4.

The defending World Series champion Astros entered the series on a five-game winning streak and missed out on a chance to move into a first-place tie in the AL West. Division leader Seattle remained a game up on Houston despite the Mariners losing, 6-3, to the New York Mets on Sunday.

Michael King allowed one run and five hits over five innings to help the Yankees to their sixth win in seven games.

Javier struck out eight over six innings but was reached for three runs on four hits. 

Garcia's homer in ninth lifts Rangers over Twins

The Texas Rangers did manage to gain ground on the Mariners in the AL West race after Adolis Garcia's walkoff home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the playoff hopefuls to a 6-5 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Garcia had struck out in each of his previous four at-bats before launching his 34th homer of the season, a leadoff drive off Josh Winder, to break a 5-5 deadlock and end Texas' three-game losing streak.

The Rangers won for just the fourth time in their last 16 games and moved within one game of first-place Seattle.

Mitch Garver had a three-run homer in the first inning for Texas and finished 4 for 4 with four RBIs.

The Twins forged a 5-5 tie on Royce Lewis' RBI single off reliever Jose Leclerc in the eighth, though Rangers closer Will Smith prevented further damage by inducing an inning-ending double play from Carlos Correa with the bases loaded. 

Lewis earlier tied the contest with a three-run homer in the fifth and ended 3 for 5 for AL Central-leading Minnesota. Correa also had three hits, including an RBI single in the seventh.

Rookie Miller stars as Dodgers prevent sweep from Braves

Bobby Miller threw seven outstanding innings to lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to a needed 3-1 victory over the Atlanta Braves in the finale of a four-game series between the National League's top two teams.

NL East-leading Atlanta had taken the first three matchups of the weekend set, but managed just one run on three hits off Miller as the talented rookie stopped the Braves' six-game winning streak and improved to 9-3 on the season.

Miller took a shutout into the seventh before surrendering Matt Olson's 44th home run of the season, which tied the Atlanta slugger with Los Angeles Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani for the major league lead.

Braves starter Charlie Morton kept the NL West-leading Dodgers off the board until the bottom of the fifth, which he began by walking James Outman before Miguel Rojas delivered an RBI double for the game's first run. Mookie Betts followed with a single that plated Rojas for a 2-0 lead. 

Betts went 3 for 4 on the afternoon, while Olson had two of Atlanta's five total hits.

Aaron Judge had the first three-homer game of his career, and the New York Yankees snapped their first nine-game losing streak in 41 years with a 9-1 rout of the Washington Nationals on Wednesday.

Judge took starter MacKenzie Gore over the Yankees bullpen in right-centre in he first inning and opened a 6-0 lead the following inning with his fifth career grand slam.

He combined with DJ LeMahieu for back-to-back homers in the seventh with a shot over the right-field wall just inside the foul pole.

Judge, who notched his 32nd career multihomer game, drove in six runs for the third time in his career.

The reigning AL MVP is batting .279 with 27 home runs and 54 RBIs in 72 games. He missed nearly eight weeks because of a sprained right toe before returning late last month.

Last-place New York avoided what would have been its first 10-game losing streak since 1913.

Luis Severino allowed one hit over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, ending an 0-4 stretch since he beat Kansas City on July 23.

Ian Hamilton pitched 1 1/3 innings and Wandy Peralta gave up a home run to Dominic Smith in the ninth to spoil the shutout.

Ohtani hits 44th homer, then exits mound early as Reds sweep

The day began splendidly for Shohei Ohtani, with the two-way superstar hitting his major league-leading 44th homer in the first inning of the Los Angeles Angels’ first game of a doubleheader against the Cincinnati Reds.

One inning later, however, he left the mound due to arm fatigue and the Reds went on to win 9-4 behind Elly De La Cruz’s career-high six RBIs.

Ohtani threw 26 pitches before he departed with a 2-2 count against Christian Encarnacion-Strand, following a discussion with trainers.

Angels manager Phil Nevin said after the game that Ohtani said his pitching arm “just didn’t feel right.”

The Reds took a 4-3 lead on De La Cruz’s three-run home run in the fifth inning, his 11th of the season. Two innings later, the 21-year-old rookie shortstop hit a bases-clearing triple.

His six RBIs were one shy of the single-game rookie franchise record, established by Robin Jennings against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Aug. 31, 2001.

Ohtani served as the Angels’ designated hitter in Game 2 and went 1 for 5 with a run scored.

Tyler Stephenson and Matt McLain each hit two-run homers to lift the Reds to a 7-3 win in Game 2. They swept the three-game series and moved into sole possession of the third and final NL wild-card spot.

DeJong has memorable debut with Giants

Just one day after signing with the San Francisco Giants, Paul DeJong hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning and had a two-run single in the 10th in an 8-6 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Giants closer Camilo Doval blew a three-run lead in the ninth inning on Bryce Harper’s three-run home run that rang off the foul pole in right field.

That set the stage for DeJong, who singled with the bases loaded in the 10th to put San Francisco back on top, 7-5.

He signed with the Giants on Tuesday one day after he was released by Toronto.

Thairo Estrada added a sacrifice fly and Ryan Walker retired Trea Turner with a man on second for the save.